Roxanne Weasley
by geekcornerbby
Summary: Roxy Weasley feels so, so average. Her family is famous. Her family deals with their famous. She doesn't. She struggles. But an un-average witch, Celeste Azevedo, shows up and is so bringing the castle down. Plus, Peeves totally R-E-S-P-E-C-Ts her! Review pls ;p
1. Chapter 1

Roxanne Weasley stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror, desperate to feel as comfortable as she appeared to look in her black robes. Fifth time boarding the Express and it felt just as awful as the second. When Dom had left her. And she saw all her friends pretend she was cool. She saw how very superficial and ridiculous her popularity was. If it even was popularity. And how boys only went out with her to escalate in the social hierarchy and Morgana, they were such ass—

"You look gorgeous, don't worry." A girl appeared behind Roxy's reflection.

"Thanks." The Weasley girl chocked out after a second of silence. The girl smiled kindly at her. She bent over slightly to wash her hands, so that her long, dark brown hair fell as a curtain and allowed Roxanne to observe her. She was tall, nearly as tall as Roxy herself, and very tan. Not dark-skinned like Roxy, but actually tan. When she looked back up, Roxanne noticed that her eyes were also very dark, and it was impossible to distinguish the pupil from the iris unless you looked very closely. And yet, she was extremely bright, she had an aura of light and almost childish optimism about her that was unsettling.

"Are you new?" Roxanne suddenly asked, and regretted it almost immediately.

"Yes." The girl had an accent. "I'm a transfer student."

"What year are you?"

"Fifth."

"No way. I'm in fifth year too!"

"Cool. I see you're in Gryffindor. I haven't been Sorted yet."

"Ok. Where were you last year?"

"Castelobruxo."

"Brazil?" The girl nodded. "What could you possibly be doing here?"

"Oh, I don't know, really, all this rain and cold is terrible for my complexion." Roxanne stared at her with a somewhat disappointed and definitely surprised look. "I'm kidding. I really don't see what I could be doing coming to the oldest organized magical community in the world, and to one of the seven Great Schools."

"So you're a brainiac."

"A what?"

"You're smart."

"Maybe. I'm not exactly fit to assess that, am I?"

"No." Roxy smiled back at the girl, sort of surprised by how easily the girl seemed to gather come backs in a language she clearly was not that comfortable with. "I'm Roxanne Weasley."

"I'm Celeste Azevedo."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Celeste. Say, do you have a compartment?"

"No, I've been sort of hiding in here since we left London."

"Would you like to come and sit with me? There'll also be some of my family members, but they're nice."

"Sure, that's very kind." Nodding for Celeste to follow her, Roxanne led the girl through the busy carriages of the Hogwarts Express until they were in the very last one, standing between the doors of the two very last compartments.

"Which one?" The only answer was a loud burp coming from the carriage on the right, and the door opening to reveal Lee Jordan Jr. gasping for air.

"Why, Roxy!" He said, standing up and straightening his robes.

"Lee." The Weasley tried to hide the laugh forming in her belly. "This is Celeste. She's new." The Brazilian girl smiled and waved a little, and Lee mirrored her movement, until he remembered that he was supposed to be cool and leaned against the wall.

"I'm Lee Jordan, nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Hey Lee, what you… Hello." James Sirius Potter strutted out of the compartment. "I'm James Potter, at your service."

"Celeste, and not requiring any." She pulled her hand away with a crooked smile. "I think this compartment would be very nice, Roxanne."

"Sure." The two girls went inside, followed by Lee and James, who were exchanging very admiring looks at each other. "Celeste, meet Lily and Albus Potter, and Hugo Weasley, my cousins along with James. And that's Fred Weasley, my brother. And that's Lee. He just sort of hangs around." Lee looked at her like his ego had just been stabbed. Repeatedly. And through the heart.

"Hello, Celeste." Lily Weasley, a beautiful auburn haired girl with chocolate eyes stood up to greet her.

"Hello."

"Welcome to Hogwarts. What year are you going into?"

"Fifth."

"Like Roxy."

"Yes. What year are you in?"

"Second. Albus is in Fourth. And James is in Sixth. But I am the smartest and the most evolved of the family, of course."

"That goes without saying. How could a… male ever have the brains, the looks, the talent or the attitude in a family." For a second, Lily stared boldly at Celeste. Then her face split into a broad grin.

"You must meet my cousins." She nearly ran out into the hallway, and knocked at the door of the other compartment.

"What is it?"

"Rose! Roxy has an awesome new friend!" Lily hugged her fourth year cousin excitedly.

"A friend?" Louis Weasley's head shot straight up. "What kind of a friend."

"A hot one." Lily winked at her cousin, who went even whiter than his natural skin already was.

"Hot?" Lorcan and Lysander both asked in unison. Lily nodded and winked at them, pulling Louis and Rose by the sleeves. Louis was the first to step into the other compartment. He had been charged by Dom to watch over Roxy ever since the latter had been sent to Beauxbatons to learn to behave properly. He was not about to fail her.

"A girl?" He squeaked.

"A boy?" Celeste replied jokingly, turning around to face the door. "Nice to meet you, I'm Celeste Azevedo." Just how many times had she said her name in the past ten minutes?

"Louis Weasley." He smiled stiffly.

"Step aside, Blondie. Hello, I'm Rose Weasley."

"Hi."

"Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Thank you."

"So you went to Castelobruxo?" While Rose had very much inherited her mother's brains, she was incredibly tactless and less subtle than a blue whale in the middle of Hyde Park.

"I did."

"What is it like?"

"It's big. Bigger than Hogwarts I hear."

"Well of course, you get students from a whole continent. What language do you speak there? Portuguese or Spanish?"

"Sort of a mix of the two. We adapt."

"Awesome. I hear South American woods are incredible. Is your wand made of South American wood?"

"Ermm."

"Rose, shut up, will you?" Lily pushed her cousin away. "You're making her uncomfortable." By then, the Longbottoms and Scamander's had joined the rest of the clan, and the compartment was getting a little crowded. The boys were clearly not functioning very well yet, probably surprised to see someone (who was not their cousin Roxy) look so well in school robes, and even manage to have her obviously curvy body show.

"Am I supposed to have a wand?" Celeste asked after a long and awkward minute of silence.

"Are you supposed to have a wand?" Fred Weasley asked.

"Oh, look, you have a voice!" Celeste joked, clearly realizing she had said something slightly unconventional.

"Are you supposed to have a wand? Bloody hell you are, how else do you do magic!"

"Without it." Celeste answered in the same too-obvious-to-need-to-be-said-out-loud tone.

"Of course! I'm so stupid!" Rose exclaimed. "Uagadou has the strongest and most ancient practice of wand less magic, Castelobruxo also has a strange approach to wands. You see they argue that you should not channel your magic through one point but rather emanate magic."

"Rose, please stop humiliating us." Hugo whispered, looking at her darkly.

"It's ok, I'm honored you know so much about my school and my world. I really don't know a lot about your world, though, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry you'll learn plenty." James swung his arm around her shoulder, pushing Rose's inquisitive eyes away form the overwhelmed Celeste. "In no time, you'll be completely settled in."

"Yeah!" Albus spoke up for the first time. There was just something about that girl that made him uneasy. And it was not the fact that she was pretty, or that she really stuck out because of her tan skin and her incredibly dark hair. Or the fact that her earrings were two bright green guavas that sparkled weirdly. It was something more. She made him feel wearier than Aunt Luna and Ms. Trelawney together in the same room. "Anyways, Lee, you haven't told us who won that burping contest."

"Ew, I'm out of here." Rose whirled around and pulled Louis and Alice by the sleeves. She was immediately followed by the Scamanders and Frank; the latter still sent Celeste a look over his shoulder and blushed a little.

"I don't think we should stay either." Roxy mused. "I fear you might be grossed out by British boys and it might not be the best thing to do now. You'll have to cohabit with them for a few years more."

"No, just a second." Celeste pulled Roxy down and sat next to Lee and Lily. On the other bench, facing them, were Albus and Hugo, teamed up against James and Fred.

"I personally say it's a tie." Lily observed smugly.

"Yeah, I agree." Lee mused.

"Ah, come ON!" James groaned. Before anyone could answer anything more, Celeste let out an enormous burp, then leaned back into her seat, taking in the fact that she was being gaped at for burping nastily and still manage to look hot as hell.

"You win." Lee squeaked. The four boys did not even complain. They actually could not complain because there was nothing to complain about. She had beaten them so beautifully not even a Veela could have done any better.

"Roxy, do you have any other secret friends I would enjoy meeting?" Lily asked, her eyes glinting.

"I'm sorry, Lily, unfortunately I don't."

"Damn it."

"Hear, hear…" Albus nodded eagerly. "Let's play some exploding snap!"

"Exploding what?"

"Exploding snap. It's a card game."

"Never heard of it." Celeste shrugged.

"Oh, you need a speeded education, Celly." Fred teased, pulling a card deck from his bag. "So here's how you play…" The eight teens began playing and teasing each other about their skills, or lack thereof, for several hours. By the time they were done, the sun was already down and there was heavy rain hitting the Express's windows. The rest of the Weasley's had changed into their robes, and the small clan looked very smart, all wearing their Hogwarts robes and Gryffindor scarfs.

"So you're all Gryffindors?"

"Yes. Lorcan and Lysander are Hufflepuffs though. And Lou's a Slytherin."

"No Ravenclaws?"

"Lou's sister Victoire was a Ravenclaw. But she's studying Magical Law now."

"Oh, I see…"

"So, where's your trunk, Celly?"

"Here." The girl pulled out her shrunken luggage from her pocket. "Reverto." The trunk regained its original size.

"Great. You can leave it here, it will be taken to your dorm by the House Elves."

"She hasn't been sorted yet, Fred." Roxy pointed out.

"Well, neither have first years, and yet…" Lily shrugged. "Come on, I want to get one of the first carriages."

"So you can be the first to get hit by our awesome prank?" Fred, Lee and James wiggled their eyebrows, and shoved the comparatively short second year out of the way.

"Brutes!" Lily raced after them; three loud laughs echoing through the train.

"Forgive them." Roxy said, pulling Celeste to the door, right as the train came to a stop. "Welcome to Hogsmeade."


	2. Chapter 2

"I really can't understand why McGonagall came to pick Celly up on the platform…" Roxanne whispered in Fred's ear.

"Me neither." They were sitting in the Great Hall, occupying their usual spots at the Gryffindor table. That would be at the middle of the table, so that they could spy on any conversation they wanted, and be the center of everyone's attention.

"The first years should be arriving any time now, and they're not here yet." James added worryingly.

"There they are!" Roxy said.

"Who, the first years?" Roxanne simply rolled her eyes and motioned at her cousin to turn around. She was sitting across from the two boys, allowing her to see the door. James and Fred turned around as commanded, followed by Lee, Lily, Albus, Hugo and Rose. Even Louis, noticing the commotion going on around his cousins, turned to look at the door. Celeste was walking behind McGonagall, who was wearing her usual dark green robes and tight bun. The Brazilian girl was wearing a red and gold bow around her neck, which made Roxy obviously very happy, but she looked strangely pale and uncomfortable. McGonagall whispered something in her ear, which seemed to calm Celeste a bit, and pointed to where the Weasleys were sitting. The girl nodded her thanks as the Headmistress walked over to the teachers' table.

"Celly!" Lee waved brightly, standing up to welcome her.

"Hey."

"You're a Gryffindor."

"Yeah, I am." The girl forced a smile.

"Come sit." Roxy pushed Lily away, revealing a spot for Celeste. The girl slid under the table and sat in between the two cousins.

"Thanks."

"First years are here." Lily elbowed Celeste in the ribs, causing her to wince a little. "They look so tiny."

"You're barely any taller." Albus teased.

"Shut it."

"Please be quiet so we may begin the Sorting!" A short and stocky man that looked halfway like a toad and a satyr screeched. "Thank you. First years, I will call your names, and you will step forward and take a seat." He picked the Sorting Hat up from the stool, and Roxanne noticed how Celeste seemed to stare at it wearily. "Alperce, Lucy." An adorable little blonde girl stepped forward and sat on the stool. In seconds, she was Sorted into Hufflepuff, earning her a loud round of applause. More little first years followed, and Celeste cheered along her Housemates whenever someone joined Gryffindor. Lee was undoubtedly the loudest, especially when Gryffindor got two students in a row, which happened twice that night.

"This is so great. We totally got the most promisingly good looking. And you, of course, Ms. Celeste." He bowed gentlemanly across the table.

"Alright, settle down!" McGonagall called, while the satyr-man clinked a knife against his glass. "Welcome to Hogwarts, first years, and welcome back to those joining us for another term of magical education. I know you are all eagerly waiting for food, but I must ask for your attention for a few moments more. The caretaker, Ms. Parkinson, would like to say that magic is forbidden in the hallways, that curfew is to be respected by all students. Even by you, Mr. Weasley, Potter and Jordan. Also, the forest is, as its name indicates, forbidden. Later this year, we will be receiving some of our friends from Durmstrang, due to the complications arising in the northern continent. I must therefore ask you to be welcoming, and honor Hogwarts's hospitality rules. Unless anyone wants to add anything, may the feast begin." The Headmistress clapped her hands together and the silver plates filled up with food. The chatter picked up too, and it was soon necessary for Celeste to shout in order for James and Fred to hear her.

"We sure are loud, aren't we?" Lily teased.

"Please, I'm Brazilian. And I've lived with Argentinians for most of my life. I'm not scared of loud."

"You do have a point. Our family's really loud, so we're also used to it, but as you can see, not everyone is." She pointed to a group of girls sitting further down the table, looking all sour and bitter, like they had swallowed a green lime.

"Well, don't they look so friendly." Celeste observed.

"Yes, they're in our dorm." Roxanne said, pulling a face. "They're… special."

"Come on, Roxy, we both know that although they have very beautiful legs, they are absolutely… How do you put it? Insufferable?"

"Yes, Fred, they are. But I'd rather not be enemies with the people I sleep and share a shower with, don't you agree?"

"I do. You should move over into our dorm."

"I don't thing Cormac One would handle that." James smirked

"You mean like that time Cormac Two had to sleep in the Common Room because Rose moved in with Albus to get over her breakup with Fletchley?"

"Don't remind me, Lee, that was beautiful." James fake-whipped a tear from his eyes. Unfortunately for Celeste, she could not discover who Cormac One and Two were because the Prefects and teachers began standing up. The Prefects began gathering the younger students and yelling things about following them to the Common Room or else they would be stuck in the dungeons for the rest of the night.

"Celly, stay close." Roxy grabbed her hand. "The staircase moves, you wouldn't want to get lost right away."

"Good idea."

"Plus, I haven't seen Peeves yet, which means he's got to be planning something."

"Peeves?"

"The Poltergeist."

"You guys got a Poltergeist. Cool."

"Depends. Though he was friends with my dad and with James's grandfather so he doesn't play a lot of tricks on us. Except on Rose and Hugo because of Aunt Hermione. He didn't like her much, I think." Celeste's answer was lost in the crowd. The rest of the Weasleys disappeared, joining other friends from their respective years.

"Roxanne!" A shrill voice called from behind.

"Hey, Alexandra."

"How was your summer? Gosh, I'm so jealous you don't get freckles. Oh, and who's this?"

"I'm Celeste. Nice to meet you."

"Hi, Alexandra Morison." Celeste recognized her as one of the bitter lime girls from earlier.

"I hear I'll be sharing a dorm with you."

"Really? But we were already kind of crowded." Alexandra whined.

"Aw, amor, I'm so sorry, don't worry, I'll try to make my stinky socks as scarce as possible." Celeste replied in the same whiny tone. "I really don't want to impose."

"Come on, Celeste, I want to show you a few things before we go to the Common Room." Roxy said, trying to hold back a laugh. "It was to see you, Alex, see you around."

"See you." Alexandra's plastic smile had reappeared instantly as she swayed her way through the crowd, perfectly and most obviously aware of the effect her hips and sunshine colored hair sent the hormone levels of the male population flying.

"Well, that was interesting." Celeste smiled at Roxy innocently.

"You are going to get me into so much trouble." Roxanne whispered, raising her eyebrows slightly. "So, so much."

The second of September rose beautiful and warm. Celeste woke before her bed's spell had to, probably because of the unusual smell of British woods, or because of the reflection of the sun on the golden embroideries of the quilts. Things had been great so far. Well, so far being one day. Which in itself was an accomplishment. She had actually travelled halfway through the world, and even if she was a rather outgoing person, this was all way out of her comfort zone. She stared out the window, which revealed to her the huge castle of Hogwarts, with its seemingly never-ending grounds, the mysterious Forbidden Forest she had heard about and the Quidditch Pitch. But especially the Forbidden Forest. From what she had read, Hogwarts's Forest had hosted, and still hosted, many beautiful and rare creatures that even Castelobruxo, known for Magizoology and Herbology, had never seen.

"Good morning, Celly. Couldn't sleep?" Roxy greeted brightly, pulling the girl out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, this place smells weird. And it's not my feet." This earned Celeste a pillow in the face.

"You should get ready, though, the first breakfast of the term is always the best. So you might want to get there early before the boys do."

"Ok." The two girls got ready in silence. Their five other roommates only woke up when they were already showered.

"You look great in your robes." Roxy pointed out. "That's not something all can claim."

"You don't look so bad yourself, for a Brit, you show some beautiful curves. But if you want my opinion, they're too black. Where's the fun in that?"

"Too black?" Roxy frowned. Smiling, Celeste pulled a picture frame from her still unpacked trunk, showing the faces of five smiling teens, hugging each other and wearing bright green robes. "Ah, I understand. It sort of explains the earrings." Roxanne pointed to her friend's guava earrings.

"I think I'll have to switch to guaranas…"

"Guara-what nows?"

"Brazilian fruit. There's actually a soda made from them."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I'm a little clueless."

"Not at all. I think I'm worse. Get ready for the most painful day of question asking of your life."

"You can't be worse than Lily on her first day."

"Is that a challenge?" Celeste wiggled her eyebrows.

"No, definitely not." Roxanne grabbed her bag and pushed the other girl out of the dorm, her stomach taking the lead. "Hurry up."

Laughing, the two girls exited the crimson Common Room, unaware that they were the center of attention of more than one hopeful suitor or admiring younger girl. If Roxy had already been quite the noticeable girl, there was just something about true self-confidence that caught the eye. There was just something about self-confidence that just made the whole difference, the whole beauty of the girl.

"Ms. Azevedo, I understand that you're new, but please refrain from speaking while I also am." Professor Hemangley, the Ancient Runes teacher called for the third time.

"Sorry, Professor."

"It's no use apologizing if it doesn't change anything." Celeste didn't answer, shoved Lee, who shared the class with her, away. He had been teasing her about the most idiotic things, such as being unable to translate half of the texts to English because she actually knew more Old Norse than Shakespearian language, amongst others.

"You sure are a case…" Lee whispered.

"Just shut it, will you!" Celeste muttered. "I'll get detention."

"Ok, ok, I will." Lee raised his hands in redemption.

"What class do you have afterwards?"

"Divination."

"Me too."

"The teacher is crazy."

"I know, she was there for my Sorting."

"What?"

"Don't ask me. She was just there. But she didn't speak or anything. She just stood there."

"She does that a lot."

"Mr. Jordan!" Hemangley began, but before he could add anything, the large clock tower bells rang and everyone stood up to leave. Celeste and Lee raced out before they could be caught doing anything else.

"I think James and Fred are in Divination too. We have class with the Hufflepuffs, which is actually the only reason most guys are still taking it."

"Well, how poetic." Celeste rolled her eyes, guessing what was coming next. "You are very obsessed with that aren't you?"

"It's just because I haven't seen most people for several months and am curious about how they look." Lee replied smugly.

"So you are obsessed. Good to know." Before Lee managed to punch her in the arm, Celeste fell to the ground. Her foot was stuck in a trick stair that Lee seemed to have forgotten to mention. " _Fogo! Ganda seca_ " The girl cast a spell that caused the stair to sort of spit her foot out. "Care to warn me next time, Lee?"

"Sorry, it was just Hogwarts protecting me."

"And your huge ego." Shoving him out of the way, Celeste ran up the stairs, until she reached the Divination room. Everyone was already inside, so she slid discreetly through the trapdoor, eager to make herself more scarce than she had in the previous class.

"Thank you for joining us, Ms. Azevedo."

"Sorry for being late, Professor, I got stuck in a trick stair."

"I know." Some people snickered around the class. "Please sit down." Spotting Roxy a little to her left, Celeste shuffled awkwardly over to her friend.

"Please remind me never to sit next to Lee again." She sighed, dropping her head on the table.

"I thought that was pretty self-explanatory."

"He's worse than a Caipora, I swear."

"Since we are only waiting for Mr. Jordan to join us, I believe we may begin. As you know, you will be passing your OWLs this year, and I have seen that none of you will fail. However, I must warn you that the Defense OWL is going to be particularly difficult." Around the room, a few chuckles of disdain could be heard, along with the familiar sound of quills against parchment from the most faithful believers in Ms. Trelawney's Eye. "For this term, we will study the subtle reading of crystal balls. Pair up and open your books to the first chapter."

"She's creepy." Celeste whispered. "She knows things about me that I would rather she didn't."

"You're aware that she's a fraud, right?"

"She's got her moments." Celeste replied with confidence. "And when she does, she forgets them. Which is why everybody thinks she's a fraud."

"How do you know that?"

"McGonagall." The Brazilian girl replied evasively. Roxy raised an eyebrow at her, but to no avail, and simply focused on the wisps of smoke floating around in the crystal ball, helplessly trying to see something that clearly was not there.


	3. Chapter 3

"Well, this has been a long week." James threw himself on top of his cousin.

"Ugh, move…" Roxy groaned from under him. "There's a whole set of couches waiting for you!"

"But you're just so comfy, Roxy." James snuggled closer.

"Sod off, will you!" The girl said, trying to push her cousin off of her.

"Hey, Celeste!" Fred greeted, sitting next to her. She was watching Roxanne suffocate under James.

"Hi Fred, long time no see."

"Yeah, sixth year is a pain. I thought I'd be free from homework but no, look at that, we're already preparing NEWTs!" Fred yelled angrily.

"I'm sorry. I also have OWLs, which I didn't know about, and honestly, I'm not sure how all the English will go." Celeste sighed.

"Don't worry, by Christmas, you'll be completely fine. What did Trelawney predict?"

"The Defense OWL is apparently going to be awful."

"That means that the Transfiguration one is going to be impossible, and that the Herbology one will be super easy." Celeste stared at him with her eyes wide open. "We have to decipher her predictions, you know, since they're always wrong."

"I see." Celeste chuckled lightly. "So, are you trying out for Quidditch tomorrow?"

"Yeah, James is the Captain, and since we've been beaters together since first year, I think I have my chances."

"Is the team made up of all your family?"

"Yeah. Last year, James and I were beaters, Roxy was chaser and Albus was seeker. And Lily is trying out for chaser as well and Rose for Keeper, so yes, my entire family makes up the team."

"Isn't that weird?" The Brazilian girl asked.

"I guess. But no one says anything because we're famous and all."

"Yeah, I noticed. Why are you so famous by the way?" She asked.

"You don't know?" James seemed completely bewildered by that.

"No. Am I supposed to know?"

"My family, and particularly my uncle Harry were extremely important in the Second War." Fred explained.

" _Nossa! Rérri Potter_ is your Uncle." Celeste looked as if a light had just gone off in her brain. "I hadn't realized because of the accents! I'm so stupid. You gingers and being stared at by everyone and… Obvious."

"You hadn't realized?" Roxy asked, something like relief etched in her voice.

"No, I hadn't. I actually hadn't. That's why everyone pretends to be friends with you Roxy! It's because you're famous, whereas if you weren't they would despise you because your awesomeness is a threat to _parvas_ like Alexandra! Everything makes so much sense!" The Weasley cousins just stared at her.

"Anyways… Do you play Quidditch?" James asked after a long while of awkward silence, trying to diffuse the stiffness in the air.

"A little."

"Try out then!" He exclaimed, relieved.

"No, I don't compete." Celeste shrugged.

"What?"

"I'm not very comfortable with competition. But I'm actually a good keeper. It's my favorite position. But I like Beating and Chasing too. But I'm a terrible seeker."

"Let's play." James sprang up.

"Now?" Roxy asked.

"Yeah. Fred, get Lily, Al and Rose, tell them we're having a coaching session for tryouts tomorrow."

"Deal."

"Do you have a broom?" Roxy asked. Celeste nodded and followed Roxy up to their dorm. She grabbed her broom, thrown against the wall next to her bed. She was about to go back down the stairs when Roxanne pulled her back and pushed her to the window.

"Go."

"WHAT? Are you mad!"

Before she could process anything at all, Roxy had pushed her through the opening and she was falling straight for the ground. Immediately positioning herself on her broomstick, she pulled the handle up, her heart beating impossibly fast, on time to watch Roxanne scream her way down, and pull up centimeters from the building below.

"Wasn't that fun?" Raising her eyebrow and smirking knowingly, Celeste willed her broom to speed up, and half a second later; she was swooshing by the turrets of the school, followed by Roxanne, who whistled in admiration. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"Just because I don't compete doesn't mean I don't like a challenge, Weasley."

"Race to the pitch?" Roxy offered.

"Alright." The two girls sped up, Roxanne slightly behind Celeste, but ready to overtake her when she would least expected it. They were already nearing the stands when Roxanne gave a jerk upwards, but to her surprise, so did Celeste. Trying to dive under, Celeste did the exact same thing. "You can't beat me at racing, Brit."

"How do you do that?" Roxy yelled over the wind.

"That what?"

"Know what I'm doing without having to look."

"It's all about peripheral vision." Celeste turned around and said. "I still win though."

"Yes, whatever." Roxanne was frowning. Merlin, not even Aunt Ginny had such good reflexes. What was up with Celeste? They flew around the Pitch to warm up, until the rest of the improvised team joined them, with Lee who chose to tag along. They decided to play with chasers and keepers only. Rose and Celeste both chose to guard the hoops. Celeste's team consisted of Fred, Lily and Roxanne whereas Rose's team consisted of James, Albus and Lee. The eight players faced each other at the center, until James threw the Quaffle. Rose and Celeste immediately flew to their respective ends of the Pitch, while a ferocious war for the Quaffle began. James grabbed it from his six feet and two inches, almost falling off his broom. He passed it to his brother, who passed it to Lee. The latter sped up, but before he scored, feinted and passed the Quaffle to Al, who then didn't score, because Celeste's foot happened to collide with the leather ball. Grabbing the Quaffle, the Keeper passed it to Fred, who exchanged a few passes with Lily and Roxy. The three cousins flew past the other team's defense and nearly scored against Rose, who happened to be right in the course of the Quaffle. The game went on like that for about an hour, until Roxy was hit in the face by the Quaffle after James failed to intercept it.

"Roxy, are you ok?" Her cousin asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm going to stop, though, I'm getting tired."

"Yeah, it's also getting dark." Lee observed, flying to Roxanne's side. Celeste smiled internally, but did not comment. The two of them were too obvious for it to be anything near alright.

"Yeah, let's go back." Celeste landed next to Roxanne and gave her the famous look that meant there was much talking to be done. The eight teens walked back to the castle, and only then did they realize they had missed dinner, and were very close to breaking curfew.

"I think a trip to the kitchens is imposing itself to us." Rose stared at her cousin disapprovingly.

"I keep getting dragged into your messes, you really have to stop forcing me to break the rules."

"Come on, Rosie, be nice." Lily said, pulling her cousin down to the dungeons.

"You coming, Celly?"

"What do you think, Brit?" Celeste replied, linking arms with Roxanne and following the two younger girls.

It was a cheerful evening, only ruined by Ms. Parkinson who gave them all detentions for breaking curfew as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Celeste finally discovered the Marauder's Map, along with the Potter invisibility cloak. Her eyes glinting mischievously, she had studied the two items carefully, while James, Lee and Fred looked for some kind of clue that would make her a great pranking partner. But Celeste had simply smirked smugly, and folded the map and cloak back, handing them to James impassively and impossible to read.

However, James had established a Professor-less path beforehand and completely forgot to check back on the Map as the troop walked back to their dorms and well, detentions ensued.

Roxy was in a pretty bad mood as the two fifth years walked up to their dorms, in order to avoid the rest of their roommates, still gossiping in the Common Room.

"Roxy, come on, it's just detention."

"But Parkinson is the literal worse when it comes to detentions." The Weasley girl moaned, throwing herself onto her bed. "Curse those idiots."

"Idiots?" Celeste saw an opportunity she could not miss for the world. "I figure you like them quite the lot... Particularly one Jordan boy, unless I've got it figured out wrong." Roxanne sat up.

"What did you just say?"

"He likes you, Roxy, that much is obvious. I want to know your side of the coin." Celeste explained, sitting down next to Roxy on her bed. The latter also sat up, and bit her lip for a few seconds. "So?"

"Damn you Brazilian girl…"

"So you do like him." Celeste smile victoriously.

"I can't go out with him, Celeste." Roxanne sighed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Fred and James. They'd make his life awful, and so would the rest of my family. And what if it didn't work out? It would be awkward and all that…"

"Girl, who cares?"

"I do… And… I don't think he likes me back anyways, I've just known him forever."

"Sure… He cares more about you than your brother does." Celeste arched an eyebrow, daring Roxanne to answer back.

"That's not very hard, is it?"

"Roxy… Help me understand… You have absolutely everything: looks, sass, personality, intelligence and more to be the most self confident person in the world, and yet you hide and shy away from people… Why?"

"I don't want to be noticed, or famous. I don't people to pressure me to have a good sense of humor, or be talented at Quidditch because of my parents. I just want to be me."

"But you are all those things, Roxy, or is it all a façade?"

"I can't wear the façade around you. You're too… Impetuous." Roxanne lowered her eyes, not daring to look at the Brazilian girl in front of her, who always seemed to figure her out. "On the train, last week, you knew I was hiding too, that it tires me to act so carefree around my family when they are the ones I should confide in, tell them I have no friends or that my dorm mates are nasty bitches."

"I'm your friend Roxy, and if things are going so bad, fuck all these people and let someone help you."

"But I couldn't, because like you said, I've got the self confident image, not the attitude though." Celeste heard Roxanne choke on a sob, and hugged her tightly. "I'm so lonely, Celly, and no on seems to realize, that's what hurts the most. No one, not my brother, not my mum, my dad, my cousins… Sometimes Lee, but he's you know, Lee…"

"Shhh, Roxy, it's ok…" Celeste rubbed her back softly, soothingly whispering in her ear. "Don't hide, girl, put it all out there, no shame, no fears."

"It's my fifth year here, everyone already knows who I am."

"I don't. Not yet. So show me who you are, Roxanne Ginnerva Weasley." She chuckled at the use of her full name, and pulled herself from Celeste's embrace.

"I'll try."

"Try not. Do or do not. There is no try." Celeste joked.

"I can't believe you just quoted Star Wars, Celly."

"You actually have Muggle culture?

"Yeah, I love going to the movies, so sad wizards don't have that, and just settle for pictures." Roxanne said excitedly.

"Okay, consider me impressed. We should dress up as Muggle characters for Halloween."

"Best idea ever. Count me in."

"Don't you know someone who's friends with the Head students?"


	4. Chapter 4

Celeste detested Defense Against the Dark Arts for one very strong reason: their teacher was an absolute idiot, and in no way taught her anything useful.

It had been a month since the Brazilian girl had first set foot in Hogwarts, and despite the fact that she did not have a wand and it was therefore a challenge for her to do well in pretty much any of her classes, she was starting to fit in. She excelled in anything not involving spells: Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. The most surprising were her grades in Divination. She was top of the class, which in itself was impressive, but she actually could make accurate predictions. James, Fred and Lee, upon discovering that, were ready to start a business, but had been rejected by their product.

Defense remained a subject Celeste struggled with. Whenever they studied counter curses, she actually did well, but so far, they had spent about two classes altogether studying them. In Castelobruxo, it was not uncommon to see a wizard that didn't carry a wand. In reality, you were only allowed to purchase a wand in your second year. Celeste's Brazilian teachers had advised her against it: her magic was still too uncontrolled and unsettling to buy a wand. However, she was beginning to regret following their advice. Headmistress McGonagall had assured her it would make no difference whether she had a wand or not, but all books and lectures were centered around wand movements, spell casting and proper pronunciation. Feeling a headache coming, Celeste sighed and dropped her face onto her books.

"Ms. Costello! You should pay attention, your grades in my class are below satisfactory, and the new student excuse no longer works for you." The Professor called.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I'll pay attention." Celeste's words were followed by a daring tone, and unfortunately for the girl, her teacher did not appreciate it.

"And now you're insolent?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't understand why you insist on me following the lectures on spells and their wand movements when it means absolutely nothing to me. It would be more interesting for me to read about wand-less spell casting and defense."

"One day, Ms. Costello, you'll purchase a wand because you will realize how much more practical they are, and you will be thankful for following my class."

"Perhaps, but today, it's useless for me." It dawned on Celeste that she had perhaps gone a little too far. "I'm so sorry, Professor, I didn't mean it to sound so rude, I'm just upset."

"Leave my class, right now. Don't come back if it's so useless, Ms. Costello." Roxanne looked up at her friend.

"You're kicking me out?" Celeste felt anger bubble up in her throat.

"For the rest of the year. Enjoy your OWLs."

"Oh, I will. Thank you so much." Grabbing her bag, Celeste marched out angrily, her hair floating wildly around her face. Not having a wand involved control, she had none. She actually had no idea why her teachers did not let her buy a wand, it would actually help her focus and center her magic, instead of making her hair all static.

She yelled angrily at the hallway, walking aimlessly around the castle, insulting the armors for standing in her way and screaming at the top of her lungs when a ghost asked her what the matter was. She found herself walking outside on the grounds, towards the forbidden forest, as Hagrid was busy with a class of scrawny third years. She kept walking through the trees, the air turning humid, the light tainted with green. She named all the mushrooms and different varieties of trees she walked by, all the bugs she could discern, until she calmed down a bit, and sat down on a mossy log to catch her breath.

"You shouldn't be here." A deep male voice said from far above her head. It was a centaur. "It is not wise, human."

"I'm not known for wisdom."

"None of your kind are. You die too young." The centaur did not move, still standing behind Celeste. His aura was threatening, but there was a ring of curiosity around the creature, interested in this unusual student resting on a log in the middle of a dangerous forest.

"Probably to escape your over friendly nature." Celeste muttered. The centaur breathed out angrily. "Sorry." The girl apologized sheepishly. "I'm having a bad day, I'm usually not snappish like this." The centaur did not reply. Instead, Celeste heard a rustle of leaves and snapped twigs, until a large centaur stood in front of her, eyeing her curiously.

"It is not the first time you've seen a centaur, is it?"

"Nor the second."

"The stars predicted a great aura would be coming today… I thought it would be Hagrid, or perhaps Harry Potter. Yet, you are the one who came… Why?"

"I needed to vent out. I'm quite comfortable with magical creatures and such… After all, it's what they teach us at Castelobruxo." Celeste shrugged, looking at the centaur straight in the eye.

"Of course you're not from around here…" The centaur mused. "Only one from Castelobruxo would be comfortable around a centaur…"

"A centaur? I know your friends are spying on us right now… I've studied pack behavior in magical creatures… And particularly for centaurs…" A few other centaurs emerged from the woods, silent and breathtakingly powerful, to circle around this singularity of a girl. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"We suggest you leave, human. We have yet to understand the meaning of your coming here, it would be best for you to leave before something bad happens.

"I don't want to impose." Celeste bowed lightly, aware that she was beginning to step over the boundaries of hospitality allowed by centaurs. "Thank you for your kind company, I missed being with magical creatures like this…"

"Do not seek us out, human."

"I didn't. You came to me, centaurs." Celeste walked as confidently as she could to the edge of the clearing, at the center of which the centaurs had now gathered. She looked back before disappearing, her eyes meeting with the deep, blue ones of the first centaur to approach her that day, who nodded ceremoniously at her. She smiled, and turned back, nearly running all the way to the castle. She had to tell Roxy about this. It was not often centaurs were friendly, and that had definitely qualified as nice, on a centaur scale.

However, her race was interrupted by a bottle of ink landing on her head and causing her to topple down a flight of stairs.

"Ay, qual foi o estupido que fez isto?" She yelled, rubbing her elbows and knees. She spotted Peeves, the famous Poltergeist Roxy had told her about.

"Student ditching class. Student ditching class." It said in an annoying singsong voice.

"Peeves, the Poltergeist. Finally I meet you, sneaky little freak." Celeste called, standing back up.

"What did you just say, clumsy misfit?" The poltergeist turned towards her, and hovered so that he stood only a few centimeters from her face.

"Sneaky little freak." Celeste repeated very slowly, narrowing her eyes. "That's what you are, right? Not ghost, not Caipora, not spirit… A freak, unwelcomed wherever you go, unwanted wherever you are… Poor little Peeves has no friends. He's a victim so he makes others feel bad to feel better." Peeves' eyes widened, if it was possible for a Poltergeist to do so. "Don't throw anything at me ever again, and I won't tell anyone about your insecurity issues, Poltergeist. Claros?"

"I won't…"

"Good. See you around then. Actually, there's a Defense class upstairs that desperately needs amusement. Can I count on you?"

"Consider it done, m'lady." Peeves bowed mischievously, and Celeste winked back at him with a smile: one new friend, one less problem.

"Celly, what the heck?" Roxanne asked her friend as soon as she appeared in the Common Room. "Are you mad! She's going to report you!"

"Let her… I'm officially friends with Peeves, he'll give her hell."

"Yes, he showed up at the end of class… You're still crazy."

"I met a bunch of Centaurs in the forbidden forest." Celeste blurted out to get her friend's mind off her current situation.

"You what? Forbidden Forest? Are you out of your mind?" Roxanne was beyond herself with worry. She had analyzed Celeste's wand condition with Rose several times. Rose had explained that wands were meant to help control magic, through spells but also physical direction and position. Uagadou and Castelobruxo had a different philosophy about Magic, the first because of its connexion with the very origins of magic, the latter in order to better learn to connect with nature's magic. The amazonian forest harbored, after all, the greatest concentration of magical beings, animal and vegetal alike. However, Castelobruxo actually favored the usage of wands if you studied magic to a higher level, since the modern magical world worked better with and for wands. It had become obvious to Roxy that Celeste was one heck of a witch. She was great at divination, had the best reflexes ever seen, and always seemed a step ahead of everyone and everything. Except when she lost control, or whatever it was that had happened earlier in Defense. The air around her would become cold and still, her hair would grow static and spike up around her head. It was not the first time Roxanne had witnessed it actually. A week or so after the beginning of the school year, Celeste had unconsciously woken Roxy up in the middle of the night, in that very same way. The air had become tense and cold, and Roxanne had just felt something which pulled her out of her own, deep slumber. She had watched her Brazilian friend struggle through a nightmare, her bed lighting up with small sparks of colored light. She was being protected by some invisible shield or force, and when Roxanne had tried to wake her up, she was stung rather painfully.

"Roxy?"

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. What did you say?"

"I'm thinking of buying a wand… Talk with McGonagall about it, I really can't stand this anymore..."

"Yes, I think it's better if you talked with someone skilled about it… It's not exactly something I can help you with, you know."

"Yeah… I think I'll go see her tomorrow, otherwise I'm never making it out of this school alive."


End file.
